Something In Common
by Firefly-Maj
Summary: After Helm s Deep, Aragorn s overwrought mind won t let him find any sleep. But he is not the only one in Edoras who is awake, and so he has a very unexpected encounter... More information inside. Movie-verse, therefore slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of this and am not making any profit with it...

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_Hey there_, a few author´s notes first:

This piece was inspired bythe movie_ The Return of the King_.

Have you ever noticed the dog that is being lead through Meduseld while Pippin´s nightly adventure with the Palantír and its consequences are being discussed? I found myself thinking about that dog and then dogs in Rohan in general, so I´ve finally come up with this.

It´s just a short one and complete, but I might add some more, as I have some ideas and have already scribbled them down. I´d therefore appreciate to know what to think (_hint, hint_), so please read and _review_ (ah, the magic word...)!

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Furthermore, this is for Shirebound´s _Scamp_, a great little character. If you haven´t read about her yet, you´re really missing out on something...

And now, enjoy!

Maj

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**Something In Common**

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Aragorn silently got up and left the sleeping quarters.

His body felt stiff, as he could still feel the aftermath of the battle.

Although Helm´s Deep had cost him a lot of strength, he was unable to truly rest now. Whenever he slept, it was only a light slumber, leaving him wearier than before.

His mind was too occupied with a myriad of thoughts, leaving him uneasy.

He found himself constantly pondering about the Palantír, but when he lay down and closed his eyes, it was Arwen whom he saw, which was painful. He missed her so intensely that it felt like an incessant tugging at his soul.

He also thought about Frodo a lot, and it worried him greatly that no one had had any news of him.

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He had just woken because of someone´s loud snoring, and had decided to get some air, as sleep had abandoned him anyway.

.

The air outside was cold, but Aragorn did not heed it: the sky was overwhelmingly clear and full of stars.

He sat down on the stairs and wrapped his arms around his knees; it was such a night that showed him how small he was, how lost in the middle of struggles that seemed utterly insignificant now that he was looking at the vast expanse of unperturbed beauty above him.

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He had been sitting there for quite a while when he saw a movement further down; a shadow had appeared between the houses, approaching the stairs.

Aragorn squinted his eyes to have a closer look, not being able to prevent his heart from beating rapidly all of a sudden. In these times of war, everything seemed to alert him.

.

He relaxed when he identified the shadow as a dog.

A rather large one at that, coming up the stairs now. It came to a halt a few feet away and looked at Aragorn, its eyes large and soulful.

He saw that it was a wolfhound, a beautiful, if slightly tousled animal.

.

Aragorn stretched out one arm in an inviting gesture, and the dog, after another moment´s hesitation, drew nearer to sniff at the man´s hand.

Its cold nose touched Aragorn´s fingers, then it came even closer, obviously having decided that this new acquaintance was agreeable, and sat down next to him.

.

Aragorn gingerly stroked the animal´s fur; the dog was pleasantly warm to the touch, and the man now noticed how cold his fingers were.

He wondered why the dog was about alone in the middle of the night; he did not recall seeing it before.

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The dog now turned its head and looked at Aragorn again; huddling against the man´s touch, it then gave a small whimper.

The evident sadness in this sound touched the Ranger´s heart, and he thought he understood: the animal was alone, and it might very well have lost its owner at Helm´s Deep.

.

Taking pity, Aragorn continued to stroke the dog, quietly humming an ancient elvish melody to calm both the animal and himself.

He knew exactly how the poor fellow felt.

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**The End**

(at least for the time being...)

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	2. Chapter 2

**Author´s Note:**

Well, just as predicted I couldn´t leave it be, so here is chapter no. 2! I don´t even know if the story will continue after this (probably making this the first story ever which has_ two_ ends) but hope you´ll enjoy it!

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**Chapter 2**

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Legolas woke early to find the air in the sleeping quarters unpleasantly stale. Silently, he got to his feet and left the room, wishing to get some fresh air outside.

In the Great Hall, he stopped to stretch and had just done so, when he noticed something by the fireplace.

He approached it cautiously; what at first had looked to be a heap of cloth and fur now appared to be Aragorn with a big grey dog, both of whom fast asleep and huddled against each other, as the fire had died down.

Legolas looked at them, mystified: since when had Aragorn had a dog?

He shook his head. Nonsense, he knew that Aragorn did not have a dog, but the two of them looked as if they had known and trusted each other for quite some time. He had not seen his friend being around a dog once since they had arrived here, though.

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Frowning, he made his way outside and gratefully inhaled the cool morning air. A few stars were still visible, and as he watched them, he pondered about the Ranger. He could be very withdrawn at times, which added to the ill reputation that he had in areas like Bree.

But Legolas knew that Aragorn was neither arrogant nor unsympathetic; he simply wished to be alone with his thoughts at times, which a lot of people did not understand.

So he wondered how the man could have picked up the dog. But then, it did not necessarily need a lot of words to befriend someone, did it?

He smiled. Aragorn undeniably had always had a soft spot for animals. As a boy in Rivendell, he would bring home every wounded bird, frog, mouse, mole, squirrel, rabbit or whatever he would find and beg Elrond to be allowed to keep them. Most of them had died soon, leaving him inconsolably for some time, but some of them had indeed survived in his care. The others had always gotten solemn little funerals, which was why a part of Elrond´s garden gradually had been turned into a small graveyard.

His thoughts lingered in Rivendell a while longer, then they returned to the dog. Legolas was almost sure that he had not seen the dog in the hall of Meduseld before and therefore assumed that he was a stray. Maybe his owner was dead; he did not know how it was handled if someone had no relatives to take care of his pets, but surely the dog would not have been straying around at night if someone was there for him, would he?

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When he went back inside, Aragorn and the dog were awake. The Ranger had sat up and was rubbing his eyes; he sleepily smiled at Legolas, who walked over to him: "Who is your friend?" he asked. Aragorn looked down on the dog as if only now noticing that he was there: "I do not know", he admitted. "I went outside last night and there he was, looking forlorn."

The dog yawned, seemingly indifferent that they were talking about him, and laid his head on the Ranger´s leg. He looked quite content right now.

"He has adopted you", Legolas stated.

Aragorn shook his head: "No", he murmured, stroking the animal´s head. "He seems alone. He should have someone who will be able to stay with him."

Legolas knew what he meant: someone who was not about to go to war again.

"I am sure we could find someone who is willing to take him in", he said, as he had noticed the sad tone in Aragorn´s voice.

The man nodded absently: "We might..."

Legolas subdued a smile at this. It was obvious that already Aragorn was not entirely willing to part with the dog and would rather like to keep it, even though the circumstances seemed inappropriate at present.

"Do not worry", the elf therefore said. "It will turn out alright."

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**The End_ Reloaded_**

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Since I´m currently pondering on how to get the dog to Minas Tirith, there might be a third end in the future... ;)

Thanks for reading!

Cheers, Maj

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